in the hopes of luring a magic fat man into their home who will leave presents behind before sneaking into the house next door. 希望能吸引一名有魔法的胖男人来到他们家，并在偷偷潜入下一户人家前留下礼物。

How did such an odd tradition begin? 这样奇怪的传统是如何开始的？

You can pretty much blame Northern Europe, where the winter weather is cold and dark and depressing. 你几乎可以归咎于北欧，在这里冬天的气候又冷、又暗、令人消沉。

And the coldest and darkest and depressingest day is the Solstice on December 21st to 22nd 而最冷、最暗、最令人消沉的一天是十二月二十一日到二十二日的冬至，

when the sun only gives a few weak hours of light if any at all. 这时即便有阳光，也只会带来几个小时的微弱光明。

These sun-deprived people invented magical characters to visit them and lighten the mood by bringing gifts and celebrations. 这些缺乏日光的人们创造出神秘的角色拜访他们，并带来礼物及庆典来放松他们的情绪。

These characters ranged from elves to Gods to goats, 这些角色的范围从精灵到神、到山羊都有，

but there are two of particular interest to the modern story. 但对现代故事来说，其中有两个特别重要。

The first is Saint Nick, in The Netherlands. Saint Nick is thin and perhaps a bit stern, 第一个是荷兰的Saint Nick。Saint Nick很瘦，可能还有点严苛，

but still brings presents to children in early December. 但还是会在十二月初带礼物给孩子们。

He dresses like a bishop in red and white with a staff and rides on a horse named Amerigo, 他穿着像主教一样的红白衣服，拿着权仗并骑着一匹名为Amerigo的马，

for whom Dutch children are encouraged to leave out a carrot. 荷兰的孩子们被鼓励留给它一支红萝卜。

Saint Nick is called Sinterklaas in Dutch. Saint Nick的荷兰文叫做Sinterklaas。

The second character is Father Christmas from England. 第二个角色是从英国来的Father Christmas。

Father Christmas is a big, jolly pagan dressed in green with a holly wreath on his head. Father Christmas是个身材魁梧、快乐的异教徒，穿着绿色衣服，头戴冬青花环。

Traditionally he is less concerned with children and gifts than he is with food and wine and celebration 传统上，他跟孩子们及礼物的关系，还不及于他和食物、美酒和庆典的关系，

and is perhaps best known for being one of the three spirits of Christmas who terrorize Scrooge. 而且也许他最出名的身分可能是三个圣诞节精灵之中，会恐吓Scrooge(吝啬鬼)的那一个。

When Europeans settled the colonies, Saint Nick and Father Christmas and the other characters began to mix together. 当欧洲人安顿好殖民地后，Saint Nick、Father Christmas及其他角色开始融合。

This explains why the U.S. version has so many names. 这解释了为什么美国的版本有这么多名字。

Santa Claus is the Americanization of Sinterklaas,  圣诞老人是经美国化的Sinterklaas，

but he's also called Saint Nick and Father Christmas and Kris Kringle which comes from Germany. 但他同样也被称为Saint Nick、Father Christmas还有从德国来的Kris Kringle。

In the old world these were different characters, 在旧世界(欧亚非大陆)这些是不同的角色，

but in the new world over time they evolved into one which you can see happening in older stories. 但在新世界(美洲大陆)，他们随着时间合而为一，你可以在较古老的故事中目睹。

For example, the poem "The Night Before Christmas" came out in 1823 in New York, 举例来说，〈圣诞节前夕〉这首诗是在1823年的纽约诞生的，

which established that Santa lands on the roof and fills stocking with toys. 它表明了圣诞老人会降落在屋顶上，并将袜子塞满玩具。

But this Santa is an elf, much like those from the Nordic Countries. 但这个圣诞老人是个精灵，很像那些从北欧国家来的。

He's small and drives a miniature sleigh with tiny reindeer, 它身材短小，驾着小型雪橇和迷你驯鹿，

which makes a lot more sense for someone whose job description includes fitting down chimneys. 这对于一个工作内容包括钻进烟囱的人来说合理多了。

Also, the word "Santa" appears nowhere in the poem. 同样的，“Santa”这个字在诗里任何地方都没有出现。

The original title is "A visit from Saint Nick." 原本的题目是“Saint Nick的探访”。

As the 1800s continued, a fat, human looking immortal Santa evolved into the standard among American authors. 随着十九世纪过去，一个胖胖的、人类模样、长生不老的圣诞老人发展成了美国作家间的标准。

It was in the States that he gained both his elvish workforce and a wife. 他就是在美国得到了他的精灵工人以及妻子。

By about 1900, Santa had developed into his current iconic style. 在大约西元1900年时，圣诞老人发展成了现今的经典形象。

It should be noted that, contrary to popular belief, Coca-Cola didn't change his colors to their corporate scheme, 值得一提的是，与普遍的认知相反，可口可乐并没有将圣诞老人的颜色改成他们的公司企划，

but instead used the conveniently red-and-white Santa in 1931 to help sell more soda during their off season. 而是便利地在1931年时使用红白色的圣诞老人，帮助在淡季时卖出更多可乐。

Though Coke didn't create him, their omnipresent ads probably did brand this as the One True Santa in the minds of millions, 虽然可口可乐并没有创造出他，但他们无所不在的广告可能将这作为“唯一真正的圣诞老人”，铭刻在数百万人的心中，

helping spread him around the world to many cultures with no traditions of winter gift-givers. 帮助圣诞老人普及于世界上许多没有冬季送礼传统的文化。

This American Santa in turn influenced his relations in Northern Europe to become more like him, 这个美国版圣诞老人反过来影响了他在北欧的亲戚们，让他们变得更像他，

although not always to the pleasure of the locals. 虽然当地人并非总是对此感到开心。

In particular, the British Father Christmas has been completely assimilated into the Santa collective, 特别是英国的Father Christmas已完全被圣诞老人系列给同化，

to the point where many Britons don't realize they were ever separate. 以致于到了许多英国人并没有意识到他们曾经是不同的地步。

In the Netherlands, however, Saint Nick is still successfully holding his own as a distinct character. 然而，在荷兰，Saint Nick还是成功地坚持住自己与众不同的特色。

The one last detail about modern Santa that's still up for debate, at least between countries, is exactly where he lives. 有关现代圣诞老人的最后一个细节是仍有争议的，至少是在国家之间仍有争议，就是他到底住在哪里。

In the late 1800s, his home was the magnetic North Pole, centered under the aurora borealis. 在十九世纪晚期，他的家在磁北极，以北极光底下为中心。

While this would be the most diplomatic option for Santa, Magnetic North has since moved off the Polar Ice Sheet and into the ocean, 尽管对圣诞老人来说，这是最圆融的选择，但磁北极自此离开了极地冰原，进入海洋之中，

a rather inconvenient place to set up a toy factory. 一个比较不方便设立玩具工厂的地方。

So Canada claims his workshop is somewhere in Nunavut and has given Santa a post code and, no joke, 所以加拿大声称他的工作坊是在Nunavut某处，并提供圣诞老人一个邮递区号，还有，没在开玩笑，

official Canadian citizenship. 正式的加拿大公民身份。

The American response is that the North Pole doesn't refer to the obviously inhospitable sheet of non-domestic ice 美方的回应是，北极指的并不是明显荒凉、不适宜居住的冰层，

but rather to the little town of North Pole, Alaska. 而是阿拉斯加的一个小镇，North Pole镇。

Denmark claims he lives in their former colony of Greenland. 丹麦声称他住在他们的前殖民地格陵兰。

And Greenland, not surprisingly, agrees. 而格陵兰，不意外的，也同意这说法。

The Nordic countries quarrel about his exact location, 北欧国家争论他确切的所在地，

but Finland is the clear winner of this argument with his workshop in Rovaniemi on the Arctic Circle. 但芬兰这关于他的工作坊在北极圈的Rovaniemi市的说法，在这场争执中显然是个赢家。

For the evidence inclined, you can actually go visit Santa and see the elves, toys, reindeer and post office, 为寻找有力证据，你可以实际上过去拜访圣诞老人，并看看精灵、玩具、驯鹿和邮局，

which makes Finland's claim pretty strong. Santa is even available during the off-season. 这些使得芬兰的声明相当有力。甚至在圣诞节以外的季节也能看到圣诞老人。

But no matter where he might be based, Santa still manages to get around the world in just one night to deliver all those presents... 但不管他可能以何处为基地，圣诞老人仍设法在仅仅一个晚上环游世界递送所有礼物...

and eat all those cookies. 并吃掉所有饼干。